Monika Wieland Shields

Exploring the beauty of the shrubsteppe in eastern Washington

September is still delivering as my favorite month in the Salish Sea 😎

Continuing with the different perspectives on September San Juan sunsets

Last night’s edition of “September sunsets”, complete with the Cattle Point lighthouse and a pass from first the T19s and then the T49As 🫶🏻 #salishsea

Soaking up these September sunsets - made even better when there’s a chance of whales

My happy place 🌅

The first frame of a video I took with my phone 😱 These Pacific white-sided dolphins yesterday wanted to play! With each other, with orcas, with humpbacks, with us…

All the blues of Johnstone Strait 💙🩵

The Twin Islets in Queen Charlotte Strait, BC

A new perspective on a familiar place 🫶🏻

Summer evening vibes on San Juan Island, complete with unexpected orcas showing up for sunset 😍🌅

Somehow we have never watched fireworks from our boat before. We’re usually further away, so it was impressive to see and hear them up close!

We think the best kind of fireworks are whale fireworks! 🎆 🎇 Who do you think did it best? Add your vote in the comments below! #orcas #killerwhales #salishsea #4thofJuly #whalesky

We're wrapping up Orca Action Month 2026 with this short but beautiful tribute to the Southern Resident killer whales that inspired the creation of the Orca Behavior Institute. Please let us know what you thought of our #OBIArtForOrcas project via this short survey: forms.office.com/r/VybWQeNA60

Our goal for Orca Action Month is to raise awareness about the plight of the Southern Resident killer whales. If you're inspired to learn more, we invite you to get a copy of the book "Endangered Orcas", written by OBI's director Monika Wieland Shields. Get your signed copy: tinyurl.com/SRKW-Book

A photo from one last evening of birding in interior B.C. before heading home today! 40 species in 2.5 hours including a lifer dusky grouse 🧡 It’s been an incredibly memorable trip; I’ll share more photos in the weeks ahead! #roadtrip #beautifulbritishcolumbia #birdwatching

A black bear cub in northern BC this morning 🧸 #britishcolumbia #babyanimals

Wildflowers of the Yukon Territory 🌸🌼 #canada #subarctic #largerthanlife

It doesn’t matter if you’re coastal or inland, summer scenics in the sub-Arctic region are always spectacular #yukon

Same mountains, different vibes - all taken from the same general location over the course of the week #alaska

“Alaska isn’t about who you were when you headed this way. It’s about who you become.” – Kristin Hannah

Exit Glacier, viewed from where the glacier extended to in 2005 #alaska #climatechange

Success in the Gulf of Alaska today 😎 #killerwhales #orcas #whalesky

A few shots from the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward today: horned puffin, painted anemone, and coho salmon

A bustling black-legged kittiwake nesting colony at Cape Resurrection, Alaska

It's a precarious life for a newborn mountain goat on the cliffs above Resurrection Bay! ⛰️🐐 #alaska

Painting by natural light at 10 PM - a night owl of a girl could get used to this! 🦉🎨 #Alaska #LandOfTheMidnightSun #WatercolorPainting

I’ve been experiencing photo paralysis: such amazing scenery that I haven’t been able to choose which pictures to share, leading me to not share any 😅 I plan to change that starting today! At least one picture every day for the rest of the trip 🏔️ #alaska

Off on our next adventure! ⛴️🌅 #AMHS #AlaskaMarineHighway #alaskaorbust

So proud of this project and this community! We can't wait for you all to see the passion and creativity that has coalesced around raising awareness for the endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Learn more: tinyurl.com/OBI-SRKW #OBIArtForOrcas #20YearsEndangered #whalesky

Seersucker kelp in the sunshine at American Camp on San Juan Island this morning. We saw it while tidepooling and enjoying one of the lowest daytime low tides of 2026! #salishsea

A little pond with a very big frog! 🐸

So much fun drawing gray whales this evening in our @orcabehaviorinstitute.org class with @hysazu.bsky.social ! #whalesky

It was so lovely we had to go back for another evening walk in the oak groves at English Camp ☀️

Absolutely gorgeous light for an evening walk at Mt. Young yesterday, and the perfect temperature out, too!

A few more of my favorite flowers! 🌹🌸 I love this time of year.

Signs of spring at English Camp this week 🌸 #sanjuanislands #wildflowers

Evening bird walk at False Bay #sanjuanislands #salishsea #blackandwhite

This weekend truly had all four seasons in Puget Sound! There were some beautiful sights to be had in between the squalls, like this Washington State Ferry in front of the Olympic Mountains sporting a fresh coat of snow. #salishsea

A beautiful sky framed by trees on my walk yesterday evening on San Juan Island

A must read for any athlete or sports fan in the USA, not just of men’s hockey

Well… the Team USA men’s hockey team sucked the good will out of that fast.

Signs of spring on Spieden Island! The Mouflon sheep are already starting to have their lambs 😍

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One of my favorite bird photos of January was this male California quail seen at South Beach on San Juan Island, Washington Each year I try to photograph as many species of birds as I can in the calendar year. January is often hard with the gray days, but I love how this one came out! #birdsky

Incredible look at the aurora tonight - the first two taken from our driveway! 🤯 #northernlights #auroraborralis

Attended my first @pwhltorrent.bsky.social game tonight and it definitely won’t be the last! The atmosphere was incredible from start to finish and the game was fantastic. 🏒 (Also love that they promoted Bluesky before any other social media platform!) #seattletorrent #pwhl

A lovely day with lovely people 🫶🏻 Find the beauty in the world. We need it now more than ever - but I promise it’s there. #salishsea

A pied-billed grebe at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, one of my all-time favorite places to birdwatch. #birdsky #birding